{"id":1311,"date":"2021-02-18T21:44:59","date_gmt":"2021-02-18T19:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jpic-assumpta.org\/?p=1311"},"modified":"2021-02-18T21:44:59","modified_gmt":"2021-02-18T19:44:59","slug":"february-25-celebration-in-memory-of-sr-renee-guido-poppa-oblate-of-the-assumption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jpic-assumpta.org\/index.php\/2021\/02\/18\/february-25-celebration-in-memory-of-sr-renee-guido-poppa-oblate-of-the-assumption\/","title":{"rendered":"February 25: Celebration in memory of Sr. Ren\u00e9e Guido POPPA, Oblate of the Assumption"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

with Fran\u00e7oise NYIRAGENDO, a Rwandan aspirant<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I. <\/u><\/em><\/strong>The story of the OA Mission in Rwanda and the Remembrance of the 1992 event<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Oblates of the Assumption – Religious Missionaries  were  established in Rwanda in 1981, responding to the call of the Church through the voice of Bishop RUZINDANA, Bishop of Byumba who needed nuns for catechetical formation, vocational formation (sewing and culinary arts for women and girls out of school) and the care of the sick (in a dispensary).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From1990 a current of rebellion began in the mountainous regions, protesting against the government of Juvenal HABYARIMANA who had been in power since 1973. Guerrillas sowed terror in the villages and many victims were massacred throughout the years 91-93. They aimed at overthrowing those in power.  Many of those displaced, fleeing the insecurity surrounding the area, were flocking to the mission where our sisters were at the service of all without distinction of religion or ethnicity: care of the wounded – supervision of raped women – care of malnourished children. Sister Ren\u00e9e Guido Poppa, who had come to assist the sisters for a year, was a consolation for these refugees. It was in these conditions that a battalion of rebels rushed to the dispensary and the convent on the night of 25 to 26 February 1992. Tragedy struck our community: Sister Ren\u00e9e GUIDO POPPA and Francoise NYIRAGENDO (post mortem postulant) were killed by rebels who spread terror in Byumba Region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all our brothers and sisters of the Assumption family, as well as\u00a0 the laity with whom we journey; we would like to celebrate the memory of Sr. Ren\u00e9 Guido Poppa and give thanks for the gift of her life given to the service of the Kingdom and to the brothers and sisters beyond the borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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II.Biography<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ren\u00e9e was born in Paris on April 2nd, 1907. Her father, a Romanian doctor, was doing a multi-year internship to perfect his medical knowledge. His name was Basil Poppa and he had married Jeanne Latour, a Frenchwoman. Renee was their only child. She went to primary and secondary school in France, and then the family returned to Romania where Ren\u00e9e attended classes at the Bucharest Faculty of Medicine. She graduated with a doctorate in medicine and surgery. She worked alongside her father at the Bucharest Hospital and as a gynecologist at the Beiu\u1e63 Hospital. Her dedication and selflessness, her passion for service, her skills and the sureness of her diagnosis all earned her the esteem of colleagues, patients and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the war broke out in 1940, doctors and the Director of the hospital at Beius were mobilised for the army.    During the years ’43 -’45 years, Ren\u00e9e remained alone as a doctor and surgeon in the hospital. She calmly and competently faced the constant influx of civilian and military wounded, with the help of some Oblate sisters. On February 5, 1945, she was decorated with the \u00ab\u00a0Queen Mary’s Cross\u00a0\u00bb by the Romanian Staff General. For years she had been thinking of religious life. She entered the postulancy of the Oblates of the Assumption on November 1, 1945 in Beius.  She then began the Novitiate April 23, 1946 in Beius. Her formator  mentions: \u00ab\u00a0she showed herself to be serious, prepared to do  anything, engaged others and was generous and simple\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ren\u00e9e made her first vows on May 4, 1948 in Beiu\u1e63 – Romania, but a few months later the Oblate’s house was confiscated by the communist regime and the sisters scattered. Sister Ren\u00e9e-Guido Poppa and the professed went to work in the Bucharest hospital, she took her place with simplicity among the nurses because the director did not want women among the doctors and surgeons. The sisters organized their work so that they could lead lives of prayer and a community life in secret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1950, Sister Ren\u00e9e Guido was summoned by the French ambassador in Bucharest, because she was born in Paris, of a French mother, she was also a French citizen. He advised her to leave for France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Paris, she obtained the French diploma in medicine followed by  the diploma of the institute of tropical medicine in Antwerp. In 1951, she was sent to Zaire to replace the director of the Musienene hospital who had returned to Belgium. It is a big hospital with 300 beds. But she returned to Paris to prepare for her  perpetual vows. After this time of spiritual renewal, Sr. Ren\u00e9e Guido Poppa made her perpetual profession in Paris on May 4th, 1953.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was eager to find her new mission in Congo and the people\u00a0 showed their affection her by calling her \u00ab\u00a0Mama Poppa\u00a0\u00bb! Often the only doctor, she ensured the direction, consultations and the surgery. Despite her professional life, Sr. Poppa was also present in community sharing the humble services when she had free time and the times of prayer she attended faithfully. Her simplicity and humility belied the responsibilities that fell on her shoulders because she was so discreet and self-effacing. People admired her diagnostic and surgical skills, her smiling devotion and\u00a0 untiring zeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In 1960, it was the independence of the Congo and the mulesliste rebellion. On July 4, the national army revolted. The Europeans left the country but the missionaries remained at their posts. To ensure the hospital’s continued service, the safety and care of the sick, the training of nurses and nursing assistants, Sister Ren\u00e9e Guido,  bravely faced the difficulties and the danger with boldness. She continued to do this for nearly 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1988, because of her age (81 years) and accumulated fatigue, she was recalled to France. But in 1989, considering herself \u00ab\u00a0fairly rested\u00a0\u00bb, Sister Ren\u00e9e Guido asked to go to Haiti to Port au Prince to help an Oblate working with a charitable organization, to run a dispensary. She devoted herself to it without counting the cost, entirely at the service of the Lord in fervent prayer and in the service of her suffering brethren. Radiating  peace and joy, she wrote in her notebook: \u00ab\u00a0Lord, give me at all times of the day to offer a cheerful face and a friendly smile to every man, your son and my brother! \u00ab\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1991, her mission in Haiti completed, Sister Ren\u00e9e Guido returned to France. But in April, her superiors asked her to go for a year to share the toils and fears of the small community of Rushaki, (91.7 Km from the capital Kigali) in Rwanda.\u00a0 She was to help the human and religious training of young people aspiring to become Oblates of the Assumption. The year over, she accepted without hesitation to extend her stay by a few months. She wrote: \u00ab\u00a0To love is to give, to give everything, to surrender …\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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III.Circunstances of death<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the night of 25 to 26 February 1992, a Rwandan patriotic group commanding war against the Kigali government infiltrated the Rushaki region. The rebels attacked the village and killed several people. Then they broke the windows of the dispensary, broke the doors and overturned papers and medicines. They went up to the convent and broke the windows of the community hall. The rebels then broke the windows of the aspirants’ room. The aspirants were hidden under their beds, following the instructions given in case of attack. With their torches, the rebels discovered them and ordered them to open the door. They did not move. They insisted but the girls refused. But the rebels deceived them by saying \u00ab\u00a0we have a sister with us\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aspirant Fran\u00e7oise NYIRANGENDO then went into the courtyard and opened the door. A second aspirant, Anuarite  took refuge at the stove. Roseline stayed near Francoise. Verena was under her bed. Sister Renee Guido, who was praying in the chapel adjoining her room, seeing Francoise pass by, went out with her rosary in her hand. The rebels pushed them along the wall. Roseline heard the sister say \u00ab\u00a0if you want to kill us, kill us here\u00a0\u00bb a gun fired in the distance and seemed to come from the army.   This made the rebels say: \u00ab\u00a0quickly, hurry up\u00a0\u00bb. Roseline sneaked into cypresses and climbed into a tree where she stayed terrified until morning. That was when the rebels killed sister Ren\u00e9e Guido and Fran\u00e7oise. Only in the morning, Roseline and Verena discovered the bodies. The murder having taken place outside the house, they did not realize the tragedy that had happened. Sister Charlotte, superior of the community, went to Byumba to telephone the Congregation and to inform the bishop who himself informed the French Embassy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At  the funeral Mass, presided over by Bishop RUZINDANA, Bishop of BYUMBA, present next to the Oblates of Rwanda was the Archbishop of Kigali, the Protestant Bishop, the Ambassador and the Consul of France, about thirty priests. Sisters from Paris and the Democratic Republic of Congo.   Also present were other Religious congregations (Dominican sisters, the sisters BENEBIKIRA, the sisters of the Good Council), the apostolic nuncio bringing the message of prayer of Pope John Paul II, and a crowd of Christians from the Region. Sr. Georgette Marie Fayolle, then Superior General, was able to write: \u00ab\u00a0The violent death of Sr. Ren\u00e9e Guido Poppa puts the final seal on her missionary life in perfect coherence: the Oblate joins Christ in the total gift of her life \u00ab\u00a0. She was 85 years old, which included 44 years of missionary religious life. More details, read in \u00ab\u00a0Pages d’Oblation, Volume XII-XV, p. 163-168, \u00ab\u00a0edition of the General House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rebellion was a prelude to the genocide that erupted following the murderous attack of 6 April 1994 against President Juvenal Habyarimana, who had been in power since 1973. The mission of the Oblates of the Assumption was temporarily closed. It was opened once again in 1995 from Kigali. Currently, our Rwandan sisters are based in 4 communities continuing the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years ago – on February 25, 2017, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Sr. Ren\u00e9e Guido Poppa and the aspirant Fran\u00e7oise. \u00ab\u00a0One life given for the mission, two seeds, for the Kingdom: one younger, the other more mature, fallen in Africa for \u201cART\u201d. Let us not forget them!  May they intercede for the gift of peace and hope in our hearts, our communities, our countries and for the whole world\u201d,  wrote Sr. Felicia Ghiorghies, Superior General.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/soeursoblatesassomption.wordpress.com\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
I. <\/u><\/strong>Proposal for a celebration<\/u><\/strong><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
  1. Chant d\u2019entr\u00e9e: Si l’esp\u00e9rance t’a fait marcher <\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n


    1. Si l’esp\u00e9rance t’a fait marcher Plus loin que ta peur (x 2)
    Tu auras les yeux lev\u00e9s     Alors tu pourras tenir
    Jusqu’au soleil de Dieu.

    2. Si la col\u00e8re t’a fait crier Justice pour tous (x 2)
    Tu auras le c\u0153ur bless\u00e9      Alors tu pourras lutter
    Avec les opprim\u00e9s.


    3. Si la souffrance t’a fait pleurer Des larmes de sang (x 2)
    Tu auras les yeux lav\u00e9s       Alors tu pourras prier
    Avec ton fr\u00e8re en croix.

    4. Si la faiblesse t’a fait tomber   Au bord du chemin
    Tu sauras ouvrir les bras    Alors tu pourras danser
    Au rythme du pardon<\/p>\n\n\n\n